Saw blade guards for circular saw blades mounted on a horizontal shaft and suspended above a worktable as in a radial arm saw have conventionally consisted of hood-like structures fixed to the saw blade motor housing and extending over and shrouding only the upper half of the saw blade. Various retractable lower guard devices hinged on this fixed upper half guard and extending downward therefrom on opposite sides of the saw blade to guard the lower half thereof have been proposed and widely used. In another prior device a hood-like upper half guard is mounted for axial rotational adjustment on a collar or flange of the saw blade driving motor housing and is adjustably tilted in a ripping operation so as to guard one side of the saw blade against accidental radial contact therewith while at the same time exposing more than one-half of the other side of the saw blade. The retractable, pivoted lower guard devices have been susceptable to lateral contact with the saw blade and to distortion and consequent malfunctioning when subjected to impacts incidental to the operation of a radial arm saw.
Also, these prior devices do not provide adequate protection against accidental operator contact with the saw blade from both axial and radial directions nor do they effectively retain and direct sawdust upward to the usual collecting outlet.
Accordingly, I have provided a one piece saw blade guard for a radial arm saw which is freely movable vertically and freely falls to a downward position wherein it extends over the entire saw blade thereby providing greater protection against accidental operator contact with the saw blade from axial and radial directions, which is reliable in operation and of sufficiently rigid construction to withstand impacts incidental to operation of a radial arm saw which would tend to move it laterally into contact with the saw blade and which is effective in collecting sawdust.